Describing Memes Referencing Vaping: Thematic Analysis

Background: Memes, images or videos with text overlay that embody a concept or belief about the contemporary society, are endemic to Internet culture, are popular among youth and diffuse rapidly across social media platforms. E-cigarettes and vaping have grown in popularity in the era of Internet culture however there is little research describing the intersection of memes and vaping. This is an important gap in the literature as memes may be part of the broader online e-cigarette information landscape that can normalize vaping among young people. Memes could also point to emerging trends in product preferences. This study content analyzed memes to identify key themes, characters and vape products depicted therein. Methods: Data were drawn from a sub-reddit devoted to vaping-related memes. Memes were electronically copied from the forum to analyze (n = 527). Using an inductive approach, the research team identified 14 themes. Results: In-group communication (n = 202, 38.33%) was the most predominant theme followed by Critique of vaping regulations and public perceptions (n = 76, 14.42%), and Vape device modifications and hacks (n = 62, 11.76%). Memes included Cartoons (n = 124, 23.53%), Celebrities (n = 75, 14.23%), and Fictional characters (n = 53, 10.06%). Memes referenced Tanks or mods (n = 120, 22.77%), Component parts (n = 96, 18.22%) and E-liquids/Nicotine salts (n = 81, 15.37%). Conclusion: Memes referenced in-group communication and cartoons among other youth friendly images, raising concern about the potential to normalize vaping-related behaviors. Future research should monitor emerging vape devices and determine the impact of memes on attitudes and behaviors among adolescents and young adults. Implications: Given the popularity and reach of memes among youth, continuous monitoring of vaping-related memes may reveal aspects that may be addressed in vaping prevention campaigns.